Chapter 9

“Hello. As of today I’ve been transferred from Opel to headquarters — I’m Cornelia Libertas.”

“Judging by that family name I’ve never heard of, you must be a fallen noble.”

‘Oh, already throwing a jab on our first meeting?’

It was true, but it felt quite unpleasant.

“I’m Keida, acting head of the merchant guild. Everyone calls me deputy head. Don’t mind that remark — I meant to say don’t get pretentious about having a family name. It doesn’t help at work.”

He sounded like he’d been badly burned before. Having heard his explanation, I suppressed the combat instincts I’d raised.

“Recommended by the Opel branch manager. Transfer to headquarters as soon as you lost your trainee tag…”

He said this while looking over the papers with my personal details.

“Samora’s soft but cautious, so this is surprising. From what I can see, besides the short hair there isn’t much that seems reliable… I hope I don’t get blamed for giving a child too much responsibility.”

“Yes?”

He rubbed his thick beard briefly while looking at the papers, then spoke.

“They say you’re good at organizing documents, so I’ll assign you to the Management Department.”

‘Management Department?’

“Headquarters doesn’t just sell goods. It manages stores across the empire, crafts strategy, and prepares for various disputes. Think of it as the brain.”

‘This is similar to modern setups.’

“Daijo headquarters is divided, aside from the trading head and me, into six departments: Management, Sales Goods, Education, Finance, Ministry of Justice, and External Relations.”

They had very government-like department names.

“You’ll get the details from your seniors there. The Management Department is on the third floor. Go.”

‘That’s a relief.’

Without an elevator, living quality would drop significantly above the fifth floor.

After greeting the deputy head, I went down to the third floor. A woman with her hair tied up was waiting for me.

“Cornelia?”

“Yes? Yes.”

“Hello. I’m Lumina, the Management Department head’s secretary. Follow me.”

We passed people working at wide desks and stopped at the door to a separate room.

Lumina knocked and immediately opened the door.

“Branch manager?”

Samora, the branch manager who recommended me to headquarters, sat there and waved kindly.

“You’re here?”

I hurriedly composed myself and greeted him. He smiled back.

“Surprised? I’m the Management Department head. Glad we’ll be working together. I recommended you here because I highly value your document-drafting skills.”

“Thank you.”

The branch manager transferred to headquarters felt more weighty now that he’d become a department head.

‘Is this the power of authority…!’

“Pinea and Nicola have been assigned to the External Relations Department and the Sales Goods Department, respectively.”

‘We got separated.’

I felt a bit disappointed, but this is common in working life.

“The work will differ somewhat from what you did before, but with your skills you’ll adapt quickly. I’ll introduce you to your colleagues. Lumina.”

“Yes. They’ll be here shortly.”

Before she finished speaking there was a knock. She opened the door and unfamiliar faces entered one after another. Unfortunately, there were no female peers; all were men.

‘Are these the people who will have a huge impact on my work life ahead?’

Sadly, you can’t do work life alone, so depending on your colleagues you can be happy or miserable.

‘So many things have happened so far.’

Putting aside a past that couldn’t be told without tears, I focused on Lumina’s introductions.

“This is Soledad, the Management Department head’s aide.”

‘He has the tired look of a typical late-night worker.’

“This is Yul, the management department senior.”

‘He looks disciplined and strict.’

“These two hold the same general administrative positions as Cornelia. They are Bator and Jemina.”

Two male employees who looked about my age awkwardly greeted me. The one called Bator had a noticeably twisted expression full of displeasure.

‘He seems quite displeased with this greeting.’

I expected varied personalities with more people, so it wouldn’t be easy. But such an attitude at first meeting — amateur.

‘I’ve had enough time in working life and become young again; there’s nothing I fear besides money.’

That’s all I know, so I’ll live as an office worker here too, but I won’t be timid or a pushover like before. So I won’t be bothered if someone scowls at me.

“Young one, this way.”

“Yes!”

But since it’s our first meeting, I should be careful.

The person who called me was Yul, the senior staff. His spotless, crisp shirt was striking. He was short, but his angular face gave a solid impression.

“You said Cornelia, right? How old are you?”

“Twenty.”

He nodded and gestured for me to follow.

“I’ll briefly explain our department. Listen carefully.”

“Yes.”

He sat at his office desk and offered me the seat opposite.

“Daijo headquarters consists of this building and the adjacent building. The headquarters shop is separate.”

‘Two five-story buildings.’

“Around seventy employees work here. The Management Department documents what happens at headquarters and manages those records. It also establishes rules employees must follow and manages each branch. Managing revenue is a major task as well.”

It seems specialized in management, but they handle most tasks.

“The department head is Samora, whom you met earlier. Since you’ve worked together before, adapting will be much easier.”

The department head seems like a sort of team leader.

Knowing a superior’s temperament or having previous experience working together is certainly a plus.

“Since it’s your first time in the Management Department, your main tasks will be attending meetings with me or Aide Soledad to take minutes, and organizing documents and managing records with peers Bator and Jemina. Other tasks involve the aide or even up to the merchant guild head, so they require more experience and rank. Any questions?”

I had no more questions. I’d learn by doing.

“Is there anything I should be careful about?”

For a moment, a flicker of curiosity passed through Yul’s eyes.

“Good question. The most important thing is not to casually share department matters with other departments. And of course, don’t exploit being in the Management Department to commit wrongdoing.”

“So, don’t leak matters that aren’t finalized to outsiders.”

He nodded.

“Exactly. You may not know as a newcomer, but interdepartmental relationships are very important. Casually revealed information can cause major misunderstandings in other departments and hinder work. If you’re curious, ask whether something can be shared externally — even if you seem foolish, that’s better.”

‘Once they’ve got experience they’ll talk among themselves, but this person seems like he absolutely wouldn’t.’

“I’ll remember.”

“Good. Your seat is between Bator and Jemina over there. Ask questions and learn quickly.”

“Yes.”

When he lowered his eyes as if he had nothing more to say, I stood and headed to my assigned desk. It was a large table divided by low partitions as we passed earlier.

‘So the department head has a separate office, while the senior staff and the aide work here, and there’s a separate guest room.’

I guessed it was because, as the Management Department, there are many confidential matters.

First, adaptation comes first. I had no expectations of the company, so I planned to quietly work and prepare for my future.

‘A transfer to headquarters is an unexpected variable, so I need to revise my strategy.’

I sat at my assigned seat thinking I’d slowly plan it out at home over the weekend.

“Hello.”

Of course I didn’t forget to greet — greeting is one virtue that’s never bad.

‘When I was a newcomer I wondered why I should greet even strangers.’

Not greeting isn’t wrong, but I felt firsthand that those who did gained cooperation and a good image.

“H-hello.”

But only one person responded. The displeased fellow called Bator kept his mouth tightly shut.

‘Did he ignore my greeting?’

I felt he’d be quite a nuisance going forward and resolved to interact with him only for work.

It was then.

“Ha, Daijo’s done for. She should’ve been serving — what is a woman doing in the Management Department?”

It was muttering to himself, but anyone could tell he meant for me to hear.